Manipulation
by fan678
Summary: She had decided the best way to get Justin was to use her best skill: Manipulation. She had done everything right to make him insanely jealous, and she had even thought that it was working. But now, there was another girl. *JALEX* Chapter fic
1. Manipulative

Her cell phone informed her that it was 11:22 p.m. She realized she should probably be getting home. Her curfew had already passed by 22 minutes, which should be enough to set him off. She hoped.

Dean looked disappointed when she told him that she better get going. Though making out with Dean could be fun, by now she was mostly just bored and his purpose had been served. She would be late getting home.

She wondered when she had become so manipulative.

She only half-attempted to sneak in quietly. She knew that they knew that she was out too late. It wasn't really unusual.

Her keys landed with a _clink _on the coffee table, in harmony with the _thud_ of her purse landing on the floor. Her eyes awaited the usual sight of Justin, his mug of tea next to him and the TV flipped on to the Discovery Channel, fuming over her lack of punctuality.

However, the couch was deserted. It sat there, orange and lonely, possibly wondering the same things that she was.

That was when she noticed that his leather jacket was missing from its hook, where he always kept it. He had gone out.

She sighed, and in an odd switch of roles, sat down on and flipped on the TV. For once, she was the one waiting for _him _to come home.

She lost count of how many episodes of **Unicorn Attack **she watched before she heard his lock click in the door. She coaxed her body into a sitting position groggily, feeling out of place waiting up for him.

His leather jacket greeted her, bringing with it the smell of his musky cologne and the sight of his perfectly messed up hair.

He smiled at the sight of her, irony not lost on him. She pretended his smile didn't make her heart flip.

"Don't give me that cheeky smile, Justin Russo. Where were you out so late?" She couldn't hide a smile of her own as she repeated the words he had said to her _so_many times.

He paused thoughtfully for a moment as he slipped his leather jacket from his shoulders to its usual hook. "Let's see, if I'm playing Alex in this scenario, I'm guessing I would say something snarky, like, "it's none of your business", and then make a big scene of sticking out my tongue and stomping up the stairs."

She raised her eyebrows at his sarcasm. "Well, if I'm being Justin then I guess I have to give you a boring "big brother" lecture about responsibility. And then go take a candle lit bath." She shot back with a smirk.

"Hey!" He protested as he settled next to her on the sofa. "I'm going to be the one laughing when all of you guys slip and fall in the shower and I'm nice and comfy in my bath."

She rolled her eyes, as usual. "Yeah, cause that's gonna happen. Just FYI Justin, none of us are over seventy years old."

He shrugged in defeat and began untying his shoes. She was getting frustrated now with his non-chalant behaviour.

"Seriously, dude, where were you?" She asked impatiently. Where could _Justin_ of all people be at this time of night?

He shot her a "wouldn't you like to know" grin. "I may have been with a certain girl."

Alex felt sick to her stomach all the sudden. _Justin had a new girlfriend?_

She'd thought it would take him much longer to get over Juliet. She realized that she was being hypocritical, not wanting him to date anybody, while she went over to Dean's place almost every night, but that was different. She only made out with Dean to make Justin jealous, and if Justin had a girlfriend, then it obviously wasn't working as well as she thought it was.

She cleared her throat as casually as she could.

"A girl? What is it this time, Justin, a Centaur or a Werewolf?"

She hoped she sounded sarcastic and snarky, and not at all as concerned as she was actually feeling.

He sighed contentedly, and he might as well have been blowing ice chips straight into her heart.

"That's the best part; she's none of those things!" He told her happily. "She's just a normal human girl. Exactly what I'm looking for."

Those words may have been the most painful Alex had ever heard. _A normal girl_. _Exactly what I'm looking for. _The words spun around inside her head, tormenting her with memories of him, the night they'd lost Juliet and Mason, saying that they weren't normal people. She wasn't a normal girl. She wasn't what he was looking for.

She felt stupid even being upset about this, considering there was a bigger reason that he would never love her the way she wanted him to.

_Duh, we're siblings._ She thought to herself miserably.

Ever since she'd lost Mason, she had realized who she had really wanted all along. Any other boy was just a weak replacement for Justin. She couldn't fool herself any longer.

She had decided the best way to get Justin was to use her best skill: Manipulation. She had done everything right to make him insanely jealous, and she had even thought that it was working.

But now, there was another girl. She stared at his happily in love face, wishing it was the thought of her that was making his skin glow like that.

Just as manipulation was her first resort, sarcasm and mockery were her second and third. Therefore, she turned to her reliable words now, hiding the pain behind her usual quick wit.

"Knowing you, she'll turn out to be a goblin." She told him, her voice full of derision, as she stood up from the couch and hurried up the stairs to her room.

She desperately hoped her words would be correct.

**A/N There's the first chapter, to let you know the situation. I hope you liked this somewhat short chapter, the next one should be up quite soon. There will definitely be more Jalex in the following chapters. : ) **

**Pleeease review! **


	2. Mischievous

Alex ignored Harper's concerned looks as she grabbed a slice of pizza from her locker then slammed it shut. She bit into it irately, and when everyone started realizing how angry she was the hallway became empty very quickly.

Everyone scurried off, with whispers of "She's mad again, run!" or "Remember last time, when she threw that bench?" and "Oh yeah, and she beat up the gym teacher!"

Alex rolled her eyes at their comments. "Oh come on, I didn't throw a bench!" She called after them.

"Um, actually Alex... you did." Harper said tentatively. "You threw that one, remember? And that one and that one too."" She pointed at each of the offending benches, making Alex want to throw them again.

"Ugh, Harper! That's not the point!" She threw the rest of her pizza in the garbage and grabbed an ice cream sundae out of her locker.

"I still don't get how you do that..." Harper said, staring at the sundae.

Alex scoffed. "Wizard, duh."

"Oh right, of course!" Harper said. "So you like, did a spell so food appears in there?"

Alex laughed mischievously. "No... Actually there's this restaurant in the Wizard World that doesn't have very good security, so I stole-"

"Never mind, don't wanna know!" Harper covered her ears.

"That's too bad; it's a really good story." Alex smiled at the memory.

Harper just shook her head disapprovingly. "Anyways, why were you so angry?"

Those words wiped the smile off Alex's face as she remembered what she had been so upset about just moments before. Justin. Girlfriend. Normal.

Harper was her best friend, and she really did want her advice, but she wasn't sure how she was going to tell Harper what the problem was, without _really_ telling her the situation.

If Harper freaked out about Alex stealing a food machine from a wizard restaurant, she was pretty sure that she definitely wouldn't want to hear about Alex's incestuous crush on her brother.

So she thought quickly; as always.

"Well... there's this guy." She admitted.

Harper's eyes widened under her leaf hat.

"Ooh a guy!" She squealed. "Is he in our year?"

"No, he's a senior." Alex replied, gauging how much truth she should give.

"Ooh a senior!" Harper squealed again and Alex covered her ears.

"Seriously, Harper, enough with the squealing or I'm not telling you anymore!"

Harper tic-a-locked her lips quickly, listening intently now.

"So anyway, he's a senior, and I thought he liked me, but now he has a new girlfriend." Alex sat down on the once-thrown bench and stared at her shoes, which she decided were really cute.

Harper sat down next to her. "I'm sorry, Alex. I guess the only mature thing to do now is to wait and see if they break up in the end. It's not like you'd do something stupid and immature; like trying to break them up or something."

Harper laughed and looked over at Alex. However, Alex wasn't laughing.

Alex was smiling mischievously, and Harper started to back away from her slowly. She knew that look.

"Alex... I wasn't being serious!" Harper said.

Alex continued to smile roguishly, and that smile made Harper even more nervous than when Alex told her that she'd been thinking.

"Harper, you're a genius!"

**A/N Okay, so this is like a mini-chapter. The chapters after this will definitely be longer. **

_**Please Review! **_**so I know what you think, and what you liked/didn't like about this chapter. **


	3. Malignant

On her way out of school that day, Alex was stopped by Dean. He looked hot as ever with his chocolate coloured hair messed up just the right way.

He gave her a lopsided grin to which she replied with a seductive smile.

"You coming over tonight, Russo?" He asked hopefully.

She thought over her options quickly. Her new plan to break up Justin and this girl involved making him jealous, but she needed to kick it up a notch. Going over to Dean's definitely couldn't hurt, though.

She gave Dean a small nod. "I'll text you when I'm on my way." She whispered as she brushed by him quickly and out the school doors.

Justin was waiting for her outside the school so they could walk home together. She couldn't help but compare his crisp oxford shirt and perfectly arranged hair to Dean's baggy shirt and messy hair.

Dean's former hotness paled in the comparison.

Like always, Justin politely took her bag from her as they began walking. When he lifted it, he dramatically stumbled, grinning.

"Why is this thing so heavy? Usually all you have in here is extra makeup and backup scarves."

She rolled her eyes. "It's a book bag, duh."

"Exactly, _book_ bag. So I repeat my question, what could _you _possibly have in here that's so heavy?" He asked her mockingly.

She punched his arm and he pretended that it hurt.

"Oh come on, I read..."

He raised an eyebrow, challenging her to prove it.

"Um, well there was that one time that I read that book... except it was a scrapbook. Do magazines count?" She asked thoughtfully.

He scoffed. "Seriously, you've got books in here?" He asked sceptically.

"Well, sort of..." She replied evasively.

He seemed genuinely curious now, exactly as she'd expected. He paused on the sidewalk and unzipped the bag, and she pretended to try to stop him.

Bouquets of flowers and boxes of chocolates fell out of the bag by the bunch. She pinched her cheeks when he wasn't looking, forming a perfectly flustered blush.

"This is _sort of _books, Alex?" He asked, and his voice shook a little bit. She was happy to see that she was already getting the reaction she wanted from him.

She shrugged innocently. "Well, it would be a waste to throw out the chocolates, and the flowers would die if I left them in my locker any longer, so I decided to bring it all home today."

"You mean you've been getting all of this stuff throughout the year? From who?" He demanded. His cheeks were turning red too now, but from anger and not fake embarrassment.

She shrugged for a second time, widening her eyes innocently. She knew she looked like freaking Bambi, and she knew Justin would fall for it completely.

"Some are anonymous, and some are from random guys; like Dean and Matt and Jeremy..." She continued to list a few more guys who had shown interest in her, watching in fascination as Justin's face grew redder.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, seemingly very frustrated. "But you never acknowledged all of these guys giving you gifts all the time? You just ignore them, right?" He asked.

She grinned slyly as they continued walking. "Well..."

"Well, what?" He demanded.

"Well, all those nights I got in after curfew... let's just say I wasn't studying at Harper's." She grinned and winked at him mischievously as they walked in to the substation, then hurried up to her room before he could say another word.

After she shut her door, she congratulated herself silently for such a perfect plan. It wasn't like she was lying, though. Just exaggerated a bit. Most of the gifts were from Dean, but there _was_ one bouquet from Matt, and a couple had been from anonymous admirers.

Besides, she was Alex Russo. She never felt guilty.

Justin fumed throughout most of dinner; Alex even caught him glancing her way a few times. She put on her best innocent act and pretended she didn't notice his frustration/jealousy.

Everything was going great (for her, at least) until their mom asked him how his new girlfriend was. Alex's stomach dropped a million feet. So, this new "normal" girl was amazing enough for him to even have told mom about.

Justin's face lit up as he began talking about her.

"Emma's great mom, thanks for asking." He replied and then launched into some lame story about how "Emma" was coming to watch his chess match that weekend.

Alex scarfed down her lasagna and quickly excused herself from the table. When she got back up to her room, her phone started beeping noisily. She opened it up to find a text from Dean, asking when she would be coming over.

She replied that she would be there once her parents went to sleep.

She dressed in a cute skirt and top, accessorising with a scarf and curling her hair into perfect waves. She shot herself an approving grin in the mirror before sneaking out of her room quietly.

She could hear her dad's snoring coming from her parent's room and sighed in relief. She made it down the stairs without incident and was halfway across the living room when the couch shifted unexpectedly. Except for the fact that she was totally expecting it.

She jumped back in (fake) surprise as Justin's features appeared in the dim light. He looked her up and down quickly, and she could tell that his face would be red if it were light enough to see in that room.

"Are you training to become a tomato, because you've been doing a pretty good impression of one today." She was glad to see that her snarkiness was still in check.

He didn't even roll his eyes or grin at her though, he just kept staring at her intensely.

"Where are you going, Alex?" He demanded.

She shot him a mischievous grin. "To study at Harper's."

They both knew that was definitely not where she was going.

She tried to step around him, but he blocked her way again.

"Seriously, Alex. What did you mean before about coming in after curfew? Who have you been seeing, and what have you been doing when you see him?" His tone seemed to get angrier with each question.

"None of that is your business, Justin. Just get out of my way, I have plans."

Her attempt to step around him failed once again.

"It is my business, Alex. You're my little sister. Now tell me who you're going to see this late at night."

His hand was now gripping her wrist, not aggressively but firmly. She tried to ignore the tingles running up and down her arm, starting where his fingers met her skin.

She mumbled Dean's name quietly, hoping Justin wouldn't be able to hear, but of course, he did.

He slammed his fist against the couch in frustration. "Of course, I should have known." He muttered.

Alex rolled her eyes. "Okay, Officer Lame-o; now that I've been cross examined can you please let me get on with my night?"

He laughed humourlessly. "Yeah right, Alex, like I'm going to let you go over to Dean Moriarty's house in the middle of the night. I can't believe that I actually thought you had been studying with Harper all this time." He shook his head, disappointed in himself and her.

"It's not your choice to _let_ me go or not, Justin. You are not my father and you sure as hell don't look like my mom." She replied venomously.

She congratulated herself silently for her amazing acting performance.

She placed a hand on Justin's chest and shoved him back, taking advantage of his surprised stumble to advance towards the door. Her hand was just reaching the doorknob, when suddenly her feet were no longer on the ground.

Justin carried her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and she punched his back as hard as she could. When they reached her room, he placed her on her bed and then backed up towards her doorway defensively.

She sat on her bed, looking at him for a few moments, until he decided she wasn't going to bolt.

He came closer and sat down at the end of her bed, looking her right in the eyes. He pulled off her cute silver ballet flats and placed them at the foot of the bed. Then, he lifted up her covers and tucked them around her, as she shifted into a sleeping position with a huff.

He kissed her forehead gently, then started to get up, but she pulled him back down.

"Justin?" She asked, her voice soft, desperate for the answer she was craving.

"Yeah?" His voice was somewhat gruff.

"Why do you care so much whether or not I go to Dean's?" She looked up into his eyes seriously.

He hesitated for a second, and then brushed some of her hair out of her eyes gently. He stood up.

"Go to sleep, Alex." He told her from the doorway.

She knew he would stay there until he was sure she was asleep and not planning to sneak out.

And that, in itself was answer and reassurance enough.

**A/N This is the longest chapter so far, I hope you enjoy it. By the way, if you're confused at all, Alex planned the whole thing so that Justin would get jealous. Yes, she's very manipulative in this story. **

**Please Review! **


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